The present invention relates to an arrangement of sealed electrical connector utilizable (particularly connectable or disconnectable in a liquid medium, and particularly under high pressures, for example, at great depth on an ocean floor, for example in offshore petroleum installations.
The invention is directed to the introduction of improvements in electrical connectors which have to function in fluid-tight manner in a liquid medium, comprising two connector elements removably couplable to one another within the liquid medium and bearing respective contacts designed to co-operate in pairs, in which one of the connector elements (or first connector element) comprises:
a jacket having a cylindrical bore,
electrical contacts distributed circumferentially at the surface of the cylindrical bore,
and a movable core adapted to slide elastically and in fluid-tight manner in the cylindrical bore between a sealing position (occupied when the two connector elements are not coupled) for which it closes the cylindrical bore in fluid-tight manner and protects the contacts against the liquid medium and a retracted position (occupied when the two connector elements are coupled) for which it is driven into the bore and it disengages the electrical contacts.
From patents FR 2 409 610 and FR 2 529 396, two arrangements of sealed electrical connectors utilizable in a liquid medium, particularly submarine use, are already known, which arrangements both however suffer from the drawback of being complex and hence expensive.
To satisfy the exigencies of practice, it is found therefore to be necessary to provide a new simpler arrangement for such connectors which, however, procure the same safety of operation as the prior connectors, particularly as regards the connection and disconnection within the liquid medium, and which are in addition arranged to procure a prolonged life span of certain component parts particularly sensitive to the agressive nature of the surrounding liquid medium, in particular sea water.